Reassurance offered to communities across West Yorkshire that incidents of hate crime and hate incidents will be taken seriously (30 Jun 2016)

West Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) is asking
anyone concerned or affected by hate crime or hate incidents to
report them to the police.

Mark Burns-Williamson, speaking after concerns were raised
locally and nationally around hate crime incidents, said that
hatred, violence and intolerance in any form would not be
tolerated.

He said: "We need to recognise that the recent local, national
and international events impact our communities, but I want to
offer reassurance that myself and the Temporary Chief Constable of
West Yorkshire Police, Dee Collins, are committed to working
together to tackle these issues head on.

"To that end we have an ongoing awareness raising campaign "Hate
Hurts. Report it, Sort it, Say No to Hate Crime and at the
very heart of that campaign is the message that: Everyone has a
right to feel safe and no one should ever be a victim of hate
crime because of their disability, gender, identity, race,
religion, sexual orientation or because of how they choose to
dress.

"I recognise that people are concerned but want to reassure
communities that we remain vigilant and have been raising awareness
and offering support and reassurance around tackling hate crime for
a number of years, including the ongoing 'Hate Hurts' campaign.

"I encourage anyone affected to come forward and report it and
know that if they do, we will take every report seriously and
investigate thoroughly, putting appropriate support in place for
any victims.

"I have been supporting many local projects to deliver support
to victims of hate crime and better understand the impact of hate
crime on individuals and communities through projects funded by my
ongoing Safer Communities Fund and my recent extraordinary Hate
Crime grant round which was funded by Ministry of Justice Victims
Support Services Fund.

"I want to stress that there is no place in West Yorkshire for
those who foster any kind of hatred and intolerance, a view which I
know is held by the vast majority of our diverse communities."

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Angela Williams said:

"While we have not seen a rise in hate incidents reported to
West Yorkshire Police since last week's referendum result, we
understand the heightened concern in some communities and are aware
of the increase in reports nationally to various agencies.

"West Yorkshire is home to richly diverse communities and I want
to be clear that there is no excuse for hatred and intolerance on
the grounds of race, faith, disability, sexual orientation or
gender.

"Our communities must be reassured that we and our partner
agencies will provide the support and help they need. Wherever
there is evidence of a crime we will seek to prosecute and even if
what has happened is not a crime, people need to come forward in
order they can receive the appropriate support. Behaviour of this
nature has no place in our society."

On average, West Yorkshire Police recorded just over 12 hate
incidents per day, between January and May 2016, relating to race,
faith, disability, sexual orientation or gender.

Incidents can be reported via the West Yorkshire Police website
below, which also contains links to partner organisations.